The Spartan kingship

The Spartan Dyarchy.
Sparta was unique in maintaining a dyarchy — two kings holding office
simultaneously. The origins of this odd arrangement are lost in antiquity and
shrouded in legend. According to the Spartans, the institution dated from the
twin sons of Aristodemus, the great-great-grandson of Heracles (Hercules), the
son of Zeus. The Spartans traced their arrival in the Peloponnese to the mythic
return of Heracles' descendants. Unsurprisingly, the cult of the twin heroes
Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux), brothers of Queen Helen of Trojan War fame, was
especially strong in Sparta.

It is possible there is an element of truth to some aspects of these legends,
since a propensity to twins is genetic and there is evidence it ran in the
historical Spartan line (Leonidas I and Cleombrotus, for example, were twins).
Twin births in dynasties have occurred in other places and times and always
cause confusion and discord when the rights of the firstborn are paramount. (In
some instances, the second twin has been immediately put to death.) Perhaps the
early Spartans, when faced with such a dilemma, took the unusual position of
dividing the royal power and duties between two princes, each serving to check
the other's potential despotism. Most likely, though, the dual monarchy
originates in a compromise between two disparate but related tribes of Dorian
invaders who settled in Laconia in the 900's B.C. Or possibly it represents a
more or less peaceful merger between the conquerors and the native aristocracy.

The Origins of Spartan Royalty.The list of kings believed to be historical and not purely legendary
begins with the grandsons of Aristodemus, Agis and Eurypon, who gave their names
to their respective dynasties. The Agiad line was traditionally held to be the
senior of the two, but this apparently counted for very little in practical
terms. We know practically nothing about other members of the royal houses:
queens, junior sons, daughters, or other relatives. Yet this network must have
become enormous, much like the current British royal family and senior peerage,
and probably constituted an aristocracy of sorts among the Spartan citizen class
— one whose bloodlines possibly run through southern Greece to this very day.

The relationship of each king to his predecessor is
indicated in parentheses.

MYTHICAL ANCESTRIES

Heracles

Hyllus

Cleodaeus

Aristomachus

Aristodemus

Eurysthenes

Procles

Sous

Agis

Eurypon

(The two boldfaced names mark the end of the
"mythical" ancestries).

HISTORICAL ANCESTRIES

Agiad House

Eurypontid House

Unknown

Agis I (930-900?)

Eurypon (895-865?)

Echestratus (900-870?)

Prytanis (865-835?)

Leobotas (870-840?)

Polydectes (835-805?)

Doryssus (840-815?)

Eunomus (805-775?)

Agesilaus I (815-785?)

Charillus (c. 775-750)

Archelaus (c.785-760)

Nicander (c.750-720)

Teleclus (c.760-c.740)

Theopompus (c.720-675)

Alacamenes (c.740-700)

Anaxandridas (c.675-660)

Polydorus (c.700-c.665)

Archidamus I (c.660-645)

Eurycrates (c.665-c.640)

Anaxilas (c.645-c.625)

Anaxander (c.640-c.615)

Leotychidas I (c.625-600)

Eurycratidas (c.615-c.590)

Hippocratidas (c.600-575)

Leon (c.590-c.560)

Agasicles (c.575-550)

Anaxandridas I(c.560-c.520)

Ariston (c.550-c.515)

Cleomenes I(son)
(c.520-c.490)

Demaratus (son)(c.515-491)

Leonidas I (half-brother)(c.490-480)

Leotychidas II (cousin)(491-476)

Pleistarchus (son)(480-458)

Archidamus II (grandson)(king regent: 476-469?
in his own right: 469-427)

Pleistoanax
(cousin; son of the regent
Pausanias, nephew of Leonidas)
(458-408)In exile c.445-c.427

Agesipolis III(grandson of Cleombrotus II)(219-215)Deposed by Lycurgus and not
replaced.

Pelops (son)(c.210-c.206)Very young, under the regency
(c.210-207) of the tyrant
Machinidas, a man of royal
blood but whose connection to
the succession is unknown;
and then the tyrant Nabis
(see below) who deposed him. (c. 206)

Nabis(Descended from Demaratus
and styled himself as King.)
(c.207-192)

Laconicus(of royal blood, relationship
unknown)(192-???)The last known king of Sparta.

The decline of Sparta.The clear lines of relationship between the royal houses and the
succession itself break down substantially by the end of the third century B.C.,
shortly before the institution of the Spartan monarchy withers away and is
suppressed. A series of external wars coupled with internal revolutions and
coups effectively ends the Lycurgan system of government after 192 B.C.; Sparta
slips into its twilight and soon passes under the rule of Rome.

Historical discrepancies.This list contains much that is disputable. John Lazenby (The Spartan
Army), for example, believes that many of the early Eurypontid kings are
spurious; he claims that the names are too serendipitous (Sous =
"Savior"; Prytanis = "President"; Eunomus = "good
government") to reflect real people. But all Greek names mean something:
Leonidas = "lion's son"; Archidamus = "chief of the people";
Ariston = "the best"; Xanthus = "golden" and so on. There is
even a "Prytanis" in the Iliad, so this is not wholly convincing.

There are also disagreements between ancient scholars:
Herodotus and Pausanias give different names for four early Eurypontids (this
list follows Herodotus) and Herodotus forgets Sous, who is nonetheless listed by
the other writers. The ancient sources also imply that the succession ran direct
from father to son up until the Persian Wars era, which is absurd given the long
reigns ascribed to some kings. Diodorus, in Book VII of his History (as revised
by Eusebius), gives a detailed chronology of the Spartan kings beginning in the
year 1104, eighty years after the traditional date of the fall of Troy.
According to him, in the senior house succession ran: Eurystheus (Eurysthenes)
(reigned 42 years); Agis (one year); Echestratus (35 years); Labatas (Leobotas)
(37 years); Doristhus (Doryssus) (29 years); Agesilaus (44 years); Archeslaus
(60 years); Teleclus (40 years); and Alcamenes (38 years). For the junior house,
Diodorus lists Procles (reigned 41 years); Sous (34 years); Eurypon (51 years);
Prytanis (49 years); Eunomius (Eunomus) (45 years); Chariclus (Charillus) (60
years); Nicandrus (Nicander) (38 years); and Theopompus (47 years). Diodorus
further anchors these reigns by confidently stating that the first Olympiad,
i.e. 776 B.C., fell during the tenth year of each of the last two listed kings'
reign. Unfortunately, this doesn't add up in either case.